Veritas NetBackup™ Administrator's Guide, Volume II

Last Published:
Product(s): NetBackup (8.1.2)
Platform: Linux,UNIX,Windows
  1. NetBackup licensing models and the nbdeployutil utility
    1.  
      About NetBackup licensing models
    2.  
      Tools for creating licensing reports
    3.  
      How capacity licensing works
    4.  
      How capacity licensing detects overlap when multiple policies protect data
    5.  
      Backup policies and agents that support accurate licensing
    6.  
      Requirements before gathering data for multiple master servers
    7.  
      Scheduling capacity licensing reports
    8.  
      Manually generating licensing reports
    9. Creating and viewing the licensing report
      1.  
        Report tab descriptions
    10. Reviewing a capacity licensing report
      1.  
        Summary tab
      2.  
        Client aliases and multiple IP addresses
      3.  
        Itemization tab
      4.  
        Clients backed up with multiple streams
      5.  
        NetBackup CloudCatalyst (NetBackup 8.1 and later clients)
      6.  
        Data backed up by multiple policies
      7.  
        BigData plug-ins for NetBackup
      8.  
        NetBackup for Exchange agent
      9.  
        NetBackup for NDMP agent
      10.  
        NetBackup for Oracle server agent
      11.  
        NetBackup for SQL Server agent
      12.  
        NetBackup for VMware agent
      13.  
        Windows file system backups
      14.  
        UNIX file system backups
    11. Reconciling the capacity licensing report results
      1.  
        Locate full backups for clients
      2.  
        Review compressed image information
      3.  
        Eliminate redundant counting of clients
      4.  
        Determine the effect of multistreamed backups
      5.  
        Confirm the accuracy of any database backups
      6.  
        Locate full backups for snapshot images
    12. Reviewing a traditional licensing report
      1.  
        Summary tab
      2.  
        Complete the Hosts tab
      3.  
        Resolve the NDMP tab
      4.  
        Update the Virtual Servers tab
      5.  
        Confirm the Drives tab
      6.  
        Final steps
    13.  
      Using the NetBackup Storage API to get the total backup size information
  2. Additional configuration
    1.  
      About multiple NetBackup master servers
    2.  
      About multiple media servers with one master server
    3.  
      About direct I/O for backups on Windows
    4. About dynamic host name and IP addressing
      1.  
        About setting up dynamic IP addresses and host names
      2.  
        Configuring the NetBackup master server
      3.  
        bpclient commands that control client entries
      4.  
        Configuring dynamic NetBackup clients
    5. About busy file processing on UNIX clients
      1.  
        Configuring busy file processing on UNIX
      2.  
        Modifying bp.conf to configure busy file processing on UNIX
      3.  
        bp.conf file entries on UNIX
      4.  
        How NetBackup creates and uses action files on UNIX
      5.  
        About the logs directory on UNIX
      6.  
        Recommended changes for modifying bpend_notify_busy on UNIX
    6.  
      About specifying the locale of the NetBackup installation
    7. About the Shared Storage Option
      1.  
        About Shared Storage Option components
      2.  
        About reserving or releasing shared devices
      3.  
        How to share robotic libraries without using the Shared Storage Option
      4.  
        Shared Storage Option terms and concepts
      5.  
        About the Shared Storage Option license
      6.  
        About Shared Storage Option prerequisites
      7.  
        About hardware configuration guidelines
      8.  
        About installing and configuring drivers
      9.  
        Verifying the connectivity
      10. About configuring the Shared Storage Option in NetBackup
        1.  
          About configuring SSO in NetBackup
        2.  
          Configuring Shared Storage Option devices in NetBackup
        3.  
          About adding Shared Storage Option configuration options
        4.  
          About configuring NetBackup storage units and backup policies
      11.  
        Verifying your Shared Storage Option configuration
      12.  
        Device Monitor and Shared Storage Option
      13. Viewing SSO summary reports
        1.  
          Shared Storage Option summary reports
      14.  
        Operating system assistance
      15.  
        Common configuration issues with Shared Storage Option
      16.  
        Frequently asked questions about Shared Storage Option
    8. About the vm.conf configuration file
      1.  
        ACS_mediatype entry in vm.conf
      2.  
        ACS_SEL_SOCKET entry in vm.conf
      3.  
        ACS_CSI_HOSTPORT entry in vm.conf (on UNIX)
      4.  
        ACS_SSI_HOSTNAME entry in vm.conf
      5.  
        ACS_SSI_INET_PORT entry in vm.conf (on UNIX)
      6.  
        ACS_SSI_SOCKET entry in vm.conf
      7.  
        ACS_TCP_RPCSERVICE / ACS_UDP_RPCSERVICE entry in vm.conf (on UNIX)
      8.  
        ADJ_LSM entry in vm.conf
      9.  
        API_BARCODE_RULES entry in vm.conf
      10.  
        AUTHORIZATION_REQUIRED entry in vm.conf
      11.  
        AUTO_PATH_CORRECTION entry in vm.conf
      12.  
        AUTO_UPDATE_ROBOT entry in vm.conf
      13.  
        AVRD_PEND_DELAY entry in vm.conf
      14.  
        AVRD_SCAN_DELAY entry in vm.conf
      15.  
        CLEAN_REQUEST_TIMEOUT entry in vm.conf
      16.  
        CLIENT_PORT_WINDOW entry in vm.conf
      17.  
        CLUSTER_NAME entry in vm.conf
      18.  
        DAS_CLIENT entry in vm.conf
      19.  
        DAYS_TO_KEEP_LOGS entry in vm.conf
      20.  
        EMM_RETRY_COUNT entry in vm.conf
      21.  
        EMM_CONNECT_TIMOUT entry in vm.conf
      22.  
        EMM_REQUEST_TIMOUT entry in vm.conf
      23.  
        ENABLE_ROBOT_AUTH entry in vm.conf
      24.  
        INVENTORY_FILTER entry in vm.conf
      25.  
        MAP_ID entry in vm.conf
      26.  
        MAP_CONTINUE_TIMEOUT entry in vm.conf
      27.  
        MEDIA_ID_BARCODE_CHARS entry in vm.conf
      28.  
        MEDIA_ID_PREFIX entry in vm.conf
      29.  
        MM_SERVER_NAME entry in vm.conf
      30.  
        PREFERRED_GROUP entry in vm.conf
      31.  
        PREVENT_MEDIA_REMOVAL entry in vm.conf
      32.  
        RANDOM_PORTS entry in vm.conf
      33.  
        REQUIRED_INTERFACE entry in vm.conf
      34.  
        SERVER entry in vm.conf in NetBackup versions 8.0 and earlier
      35.  
        SSO_DA_REREGISTER_INTERVAL entry in vm.conf
      36.  
        SSO_DA_RETRY_TIMEOUT entry in vm.conf
      37.  
        SSO_HOST_NAME entry in vm.conf
      38.  
        TLH_mediatype entry in vm.conf
      39.  
        TLM_mediatype entry in vm.conf
      40.  
        VERBOSE entry in vm.conf
      41.  
        Example vm.conf file
      42.  
        How to access media and devices on other hosts
      43.  
        Host name precedence in the vm.conf file
  3. Holds Management
    1.  
      About Holds Management
    2.  
      Creating a hold
    3.  
      Viewing hold details
    4.  
      Adding a backup image to an existing hold
    5.  
      Releasing a hold
  4. Menu user interfaces on UNIX
    1.  
      About menu user interfaces
    2. About the tpconfig device configuration utility
      1.  
        About the tpconfig utility menu
      2.  
        Starting the tpconfig device configuration utility
      3.  
        Adding robots
      4.  
        Adding drives
      5.  
        Updating a robot configuration
      6.  
        Updating a drive configuration
      7.  
        Deleting a robot
      8.  
        Deleting a drive
      9.  
        Configuring drive paths
      10.  
        Configuring host credentials
      11.  
        Displaying and writing the device configuration
    3. About the NetBackup Disk Configuration Utility
      1.  
        Managing OpenStorage servers and disk pools
      2.  
        Managing global disk attributes
  5. Reference topics
    1. Host name rules
      1.  
        How NetBackup uses host names
      2.  
        Updating NetBackup after changing the host name
      3.  
        Special considerations for Domain Name Service (DNS)
    2. About reading backup images with nbtar or tar32.exe
      1.  
        Restoring files with non-NetBackup restore utilities (on UNIX)
      2.  
        Considerations for file restoration with non-NetBackup restore utilities (on UNIX)
      3.  
        About the files that restores generate
    3. Factors that affect backup time
      1.  
        Total amount of data to back up
      2.  
        Transfer rate
    4.  
      Methods for determining the NetBackup transfer rate
    5. NetBackup notify scripts
      1.  
        backup_notify script
      2.  
        backup_exit_notify script
      3.  
        bpstart_notify script (UNIX clients)
      4.  
        bpstart_notify.bat script (Windows clients)
      5.  
        bpend_notify script (UNIX clients)
      6.  
        bpend_notify.bat script (Windows clients)
      7.  
        bpend_notify_busy script (UNIX clients)
      8.  
        child_end_deployment_notify
      9.  
        child_start_deployment_notify
      10.  
        diskfull_notify script
      11.  
        drive_mount_notify script (on UNIX)
      12.  
        drive_unmount_notify script (on UNIX)
      13.  
        mail_dr_info script
      14.  
        media_deassign_notify script
      15.  
        nbmail.cmd script (on Windows)
      16.  
        parent_end_deployment_notify
      17.  
        parent_end_notify script
      18.  
        parent_start_deployment_notify
      19.  
        parent_start_notify script
      20.  
        pending_request_notify script
      21.  
        restore_notify script
      22.  
        session_notify script
      23.  
        session_start_notify script
      24.  
        shared_drive_notify script
      25.  
        userreq_notify script
    6. Media and device management best practices
      1.  
        Media management best practices
      2.  
        Device management best practices
      3.  
        Media and device performance and troubleshooting
    7. About TapeAlert
      1.  
        About TapeAlert cleaning (reactive cleaning)
      2.  
        About TapeAlert and frequency-based cleaning
      3.  
        About TapeAlert requirements
      4.  
        TapeAlert logs and codes
    8. About tape drive cleaning
      1.  
        About library-based cleaning
      2.  
        About frequency-based cleaning
      3.  
        About operator-initiated cleaning
      4.  
        About using a cleaning tape
    9.  
      How NetBackup selects drives
    10. How NetBackup reserves drives
      1. About SCSI persistent reserve
        1.  
          About SCSI persistent reserve commands
        2.  
          About SCSI persistent reserve conflicts
      2. About the SPC-2 SCSI reserve process
        1.  
          About SPC-2 SCSI reserve commands
        2.  
          About SCSI reservation conflicts
        3.  
          About forcing a release of an unavailable HBA's SPC-2 reservation
        4.  
          Breaking a reservation
      3.  
        About SCSI reserve requirements
      4.  
        About SCSI reserve limitations
      5.  
        About SCSI reservation logging
      6.  
        About SCSI reserve operating system limitations on Windows
      7. About checking for data loss
        1.  
          About possible data loss causes
      8. About checking for tape and driver configuration errors
        1.  
          About common configuration problems
      9.  
        About configuring SCSI reserve
    11. How NetBackup selects media
      1. About selecting media in robots
        1.  
          About spanning media with automatic media selection
      2. About selecting media in standalone drives
        1.  
          About selecting media by using standalone drive extensions
        2.  
          About disabling standalone drive extensions
        3.  
          About spanning media
        4.  
          About leaving standalone drives in the ready state
    12.  
      Volume pool and volume group examples
    13.  
      Media formats
    14.  
      Media and device management processes
    15. About Tape I/O commands on UNIX
      1.  
        About requesting tapes
      2.  
        About reading and writing tape files
      3.  
        About removing tape files

About selecting media in robots

When NetBackup receives a request for a volume, it searches the EMM database for the media ID. The external media ID should correspond to the NetBackup media ID.

A request for a volume includes the following attributes:

  • The media ID

  • The device density

  • The file name that is used to link to the device that is assigned.

Table: How NetBackup selects a volume in a robot describes the order in which NetBackup selects a volume in a robot.

Table: How NetBackup selects a volume in a robot

Order

Description

1.

NetBackup searches the media catalog for a volume that is already mounted in a drive and meets the following criteria:

  • Configured to contain backups at the retention level that the backup schedule requires. However, if the NetBackup Media host property Allow multiple retentions per media is specified for the server, NetBackup does not search by retention level.

  • In the volume pool that the backup job requires.

  • Not in a FULL, FROZEN, IMPORTED, or SUSPENDED state.

  • Of the same density that the backup job requested, and in the robot that the backup job requested.

  • Not currently in use by another backup or a restore.

  • Not written in a protected format. NetBackup detects the tape format after the volume is mounted. If the volume is in a protected format, NetBackup unmounts the volume and resumes the search.

If a suitable volume is found, NetBackup uses it.

2.

If NetBackup cannot find a mounted volume that satisfies all of the previous conditions, it checks the media catalog for any volume that is suitable.

  • If a suitable volume is in a robot, NetBackup issues the commands that move the volume to a drive, position the heads to the beginning of the volume, and assign it to the request. No manual intervention is required.

  • If a suitable volume is not in a robot but is in a standalone drive, NetBackup automatically mounts and assigns it. No manual intervention is required.

  • If a suitable volume is not in a robot or a standalone drive and the request is media-specific, NetBackup may pend a mount request. A media-specific mount request is one for a restore, for an import, or from the tpreq command.

  • If a suitable volume is not in a robot or a standalone drive, NetBackup may attempt to use another volume only as follows: For backup jobs for which any other media can be used.

3.

If a suitable volume does not exist or if a suitable volume is at end of media (EOM), NetBackup assigns a new volume. NetBackup may assign a new volume even if a volume is not full (because NetBackup received an EOM message from the drive).

The new volume must meet all of the following criteria:

  • Is the correct media type

  • Is for the correct robot type (if applicable)

  • Is located in the requested robotic peripheral (if applicable)

  • Resides on the requested host

  • Is in the correct volume pool

  • Is not currently assigned (not already allocated to NetBackup)

  • Is not expired (if an expiration date is defined in NetBackup)

  • Has not exceeded the maximum number of mounts allowed

4.

If more than one volume qualifies, NetBackup chooses the volume that was least recently used.

NetBackup then adds it to the media catalog and assigns it the specified retention level.

5.

If there are no unassigned volumes of the requested type, the backup terminates with an error message that no media were available.

NetBackuptakes no action.

See About spanning media with automatic media selection.